Mayawati says Meira Kumar and Ram Nath Kovind were fielded because of BSP

Mayawati says Meira Kumar and Ram Nath Kovind were fielded because of BSP

Presidential election 2017: Speaking to reporters after casting her vote, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Monday said that Meira Kumar and Ram Nath Kovind, both presidential candidates from Dalit community, were fielded because of BSP.

“Winning or losing (a poll) is a different issue. Whoever wins, the good thing is a Scheduled Caste person will be the country’s president,” Mayawati said. (Photo:IE)

Presidential election 2017: Speaking to reporters after casting her vote, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Monday said that Meira Kumar and Ram Nath Kovind, both presidential candidates from Dalit community, were fielded because of BSP. Mayawati, who had expressed her happiness over fielding of Dalit candidates by both sides, expressed satisfaction that a Dalit leader would occupy the office of the president irrespective of who won the poll.”Winning or losing (a poll) is a different issue. Whoever wins, the good thing is a Scheduled Caste person will be the country’s president. And I think it is a good thing for our movement, the party. “And the NDA, the BJP had to field a Dalit candidate for the presidential poll because of the BSP and the other side (the opposition) too,” she told reporters outside Parliament. The voting for the presidential poll began at 10 AM and will continue till 5 PM. The results of the poll will be declared on July 20.

As voting to elect India’s next president got underway on Monday, the BJP expressed confidence that its candidate Ram Nath Kovind would win with a “comfortable” margin. On the other hand, opposition CPI(M) asked the electoral college to vote thoughtfully and uphold the Constitution.

Here’s what Mayawati said:

BJP-led NDA has fielded Ram Nath Kovind as its candidate for the top post, while Congress-led opposition has fielded Meira Kumar as its candidate for the elections. “Kovind ji will win (the election) with a respectable and comfortable margin,” Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters ahead of the polling. Naidu, however, made no comments on the BJP parliamentary board’s meeting to pick the ruling alliance’s vice presidential candidate. Let the presidential poll get over first, he said. The CPI(M), which is backing Meira Kumar, urged lawmakers to pick the “custodian of the Constitution” thoughtfully. “Hope the Electoral College picks the custodian of India’s Constitution thoughtfully: Vote to uphold Constitutional Values of our Republic,” party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said on Twitter.